Forum:Why is everything past tense?
The articles say things like "Alegaesia was..." and "The elves were". The Inheritance Cycle takes place in another world and timeline, it's not something that used to exist. The articles should be written as if you are in that timeline. JoostinOnline 01:50, November 6, 2011 (UTC) :This is a long, in-depth, discussion which involves the nature of such things as primary and secondary worlds but I will say this: Paolini has implied in interviews that the World of Inheritance is an earlier version of our own (Before the Wheel turned or the world moved on, take your pick of fantasy metaphors) and should be treated as such. Also, where would you say the present is in Inheritance? The end of Brisingr? At the moment, yes, but it would hardly be a good date after Tuesday. After Inheritance? If so, then how could we edit it to say who lived or died? We're following a similar system to Wookieepedia and The One Wiki to Rule Them All, where the primary worlds of their respective sagas and deemed to have taken place long ago. (As an aside, shouldn't Shannara wiki have to say things like "The Shannara family will..."?)--Wyvern Rex. 14:42, November 6, 2011 (UTC) ::Also, CP said last night he had considered making Alagaesia an ancient technological society with nanotechnology that everyone forgot about, and thought it was magic.--Gilderien Talk| 21:13, November 6, 2011 (UTC) :::It doesn't have to be at one specific point in time, just from the general period of time that the books span over. I do see your argument, but Christopher Paolini frequently talks about things from within the point of time that the books span over. Implying that Alegaesia is located in the same world as us is not the same as flat out saying that it. :::Gilderien, he thought about it, but didn't do it. JoostinOnline 21:31, November 6, 2011 (UTC) ::::He said he might in the future, but anyway, might our articles all have to be re-written every time a new book comes out?--Gilderien Talk| 21:46, November 6, 2011 (UTC) :::::My argument still applies. You would not have to change every page when a new book came out, and except for an occasional edit on some pages (which you do anyway), things could have stayed in the present from the beginning if you had written them so. Places existed in Eragon still exist now. All you would need to do is change a few words for the handful of people who have died, should you wish to do so. JoostinOnline 21:55, November 6, 2011 (UTC) :::::Apart from the fact that its all in past tense and its a bit lste to change it now, how do we know the whole of Alagaesia wont be destryed on Tuesday?--Gilderien Talk| 22:05, November 6, 2011 (UTC) ::::::Lol, well I wasn't suggesting that anything should be changed before reading Inheritance. If it is, then the articles can be left alone and everybody can hate CP for killing everybody who couldn't leave Alagaesia, lol. ::::::It would take very little effort to change the tense of the articles anyway. All you have to do is change a few words, not re-write them. JoostinOnline 22:11, November 6, 2011 (UTC) :::::::Another problem I've just thought of is this: The Rider War takes about a year. It's taken eight years for Paolini to "transcribe" the events. So did it start at the time Eragon was published and end a year after, or does it end now and Paolini could just see into the future? Anyway, I rather like the past tense style.--Wyvern Rex. 09:16, November 7, 2011 (UTC) ::::::::It takes place across the timeline of the books, not ours. JoostinOnline 17:53, November 7, 2011 (UTC)